Global leadership conclave to attract over 1,200 delegates

Leaders from all walks of life will be in town for a global leadership conclave hosted by alumni of the prestigious Indian Institutes of Management (IIM).

IIMPact 2016 will be themed around re-imagining and reinventing the pursuit of happiness through personal life, professional work and societal impact.

"The topics and the discussion will shape the delegates to rethink their strategies to thrive in a rapidly changing world," said Mr Sanjiv Aiyar, president of Pan IIM Alumni of Singapore (PIIMA)

The keynote address on Friday will be delivered by Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat at a gala dinner at Marina Bay Sands. More than 1,200 delegates are expected to attend the two-day event, which will feature about 30 speakers.

"The Pan IIM Alumni Singapore charter is to promote better integration among the various IIM communities, enable the exchange of thoughts and ideas with the Singapore business community, and drive pan-IIM events and initiatives," DBS chief executive Piyush Gupta told The Straits Times.

"The ultimate goal is that we are able to benefit the society at large," added Mr Gupta, an IIM alumnus and chair of PIIMA.

IIMs - the publicly run management educational institutions across India - have produced some of the biggest names in global business such as PepsiCo chief executive (CEO) Indra Nooyi, Indian central bank governor Raghuram Rajan and Olam International managing director Sunny Verghese.

More than 1,000 alumni live in Singapore.

Some of the topics to be discussed at the conclave include re-imagining the future of work, reinventing the future of money and a panel discussion on re-imagining India-Singapore.

Speakers include technocrat and entrepreneur Sam Pitroda, Singapore Polytechnic deputy principal of corporate development Hee Joh Liang, Ummeed Child Development Centre founder Vibha Krishnamurthy and Indian film director and writer Imtiaz Ali. Former Infosys CEO Nandan Nilekani will address the crowd via videolink.

The event will also have a new element, called IIMaginarium, which will work as a discovery-oriented platform to help start-ups project themselves to global audiences.

"There are many technologies on showcase here, such as virtual reality, 3D printing, drones, e-scooters, tele-medicine, video analytics, etc," Mr Aiyar said.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on April 06, 2016, with the headline Global leadership conclave to attract over 1,200 delegates. Subscribe